


sacred simplicity

by karnsteins



Series: cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run [8]
Category: The Outsiders - All Media Types
Genre: (the abo elements aren't really overt), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Bathing/Washing, College Years for Ponyboy, Domestic Fluff, Intimacy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29315208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karnsteins/pseuds/karnsteins
Summary: ponyboy, dallas, and a bath they share. a tiny moment of intimacy.
Relationships: Ponyboy Curtis/Dallas Winston
Series: cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969333
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	sacred simplicity

"fuck," ponyboy swears under his breath as he sinks into the bathtub, the water scalding hot on his skin. it's exactly the way he likes it, though, leaning back into the water with relief. keeping up with track was becoming more of a hassle than anything else, even though the hot baths were making it better to deal with in the short term. he leans his head back, steam rising up, and takes a deep, steadying breath. 

stretching out his legs, ponyboy hums, hearing dallas shed his clothes in the other room. he'd walked out to use the payphone as always, when pony had started running the water, and come back in right when he'd finished. he can hear the shirt hit the floor, and then the dallas lopes his way into the bathroom, naked and eyes focused on ponyboy in the tub. he fixes ponyboy with a sharp look, drawling out, "no book this time? i'm shocked." 

ponyboy raises him the middle finger in response. "i only dropped it because _you_ were trying to fuck me." he grins a little bit remembering it, dallas' teeth sinking into his shoulder, the way his body had shivered, and the tip of his fingers tilting just so, the book splashing below into the water. he shifts over as dallas climbs into the tub behind him, hissing too at the heat of the water. ponyboy still doesn't know, exactly, who this house used to belong to, and he'd never know; he's just grateful that whoever owned it before had a very, very spacious tub for two with plenty of room for them. 

he reaches for the bar of soap and the towel, dallas leaning back to just watch pony move. he can see the look on his face in his mind's eye: trailing down the scar on his shoulder and back, the bites and scratches that still remained from the morning. there's the sound of a match being struck, and then dallas' fingers are in his hair, tugging him back. "when are you gonna cut this?" 

"soon as you cut yours," ponyboy dips the soap and cloth into the water, leaning back with dallas' hand. "you have fun in town today?" 

"wasn't that bad," dallas reaches over pony's shoulder, offering him one of the cups they leave in there, "come on, you know what to do." pony takes the cup, runs some hot water in it, and hands it back. they fall into their normal routine: dallas using the cup to pour the water in pony's hair, and then massaging some of the shampoo into it, slow and easy. the tension slips out of pony's shoulders with every movement, dallas knowing exactly how and where to massage his scalp. before they'd gotten together, ponyboy would have never pegged that dallas was this good with his hands, able to find exactly where to touch and how to work out the tension.

now? before long he's not concerned much with cleaning himself so much as he is about dallas' fingers, resisting the urge to shut his eyes in the tub and lean back into dallas' warm, lean body.

he barely gets the rest of him clean, shivering when dallas pours the water over his head. he fills the cup again, sighing as dallas works the shampoo out of his hair, and once it's done, ponyboy considers not getting out for awhile longer. the ache in his muscles aren't what they were before, the water is just hot enough to lull him into comfort, and dallas feels so solid and good behind him. "one day you're going to do that, put me right to sleep," he murmurs the words out as dallas rinses out the last of the shampoo from his hair, the water slipping down in a warm flood down his back.

"good thing i'm here, ain't it?" dallas exhales a stream of smoke, stubbing out the last cigarette. his nose nuzzles against the back of ponyboy's neck, hand dipping between ponyboy's thighs teasingly. his fingers traces ponyboy's inner thighs, teeth finding ponyboy's ear, tugging at it gently. "though, i don't really want you falling asleep on me." 

ponyboy turns his head, his eyes meeting dallas' teasing ones, and he bumps his forehead against dallas' own. he doesn't move dallas' hand, but he doesn't kiss him either, noses bumping, breath mingling, content to tease dallas for once instead of the other way around. he pulls away when dallas leans forward for a kiss, not minding when dallas' fingers dig into the soft inside of his thigh. 

it wouldn't be them if it weren't for that, those little bits of pain, the push and pull of it even in moments of care like this. 

he turns back around to get the cup again, filling it up. he brings it back, sets it on the edge, and he and dallas switch places. dallas has to slide down a little, a good few inches on ponyboy making all the difference. ponyboy takes his time, shampooing dallas' hair as careful as he can, wanting to get it all out, voice low, "think i might give up track after this semester." 

"that so?" dallas hums low in his throat, ponyboy's fingers working at the base of his neck. he tips the ash off of his cigarette, putting it right on the edge of the tub, "that ain't gonna affect anything is it?"

"just a little less of this is all," ponyboy shrugs, "darry'll be upset but my grades are good." he tugs dallas' ears into a fold as he pours the last bit of water over it. "i just get tired of having to do this, and work isn't gonna get any easier from here." he sets the cup down, picks up the towel and soap. 

dallas' back has a smattering of freckles and moles, ponyboy's fingers lingering on them, trying to draw constellations from memory. there are scars intertwined there, from knife wounds, glass, things ponyboy would never know the origin of, never know the story of. 

his mouth settles on one at the top of dallas' shoulder, dallas letting out a contented sound when he does it. 

it's a good thing he's there too, apparently. 

eventually, they finish, climbing out, the tub draining behind them. ponyboy stays behind to clean it, dallas going to get clothes for both of them. after that, both of them start on dinner, with only so much time to go for night classes for ponyboy and dallas, who knew. 

they would both be there, at the end of the night, for each other. that was what mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! love comments, kudos, and if you ever wanna holler at me, i'm over on tumblr @madeleinepryor.


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